FIRST MISSION ACCOMPLISHED FOR GIBERNAU
Last year’s winner ready for another battle at Mugello
and Melandri confident despite seventh place on the grid
ITALIAN GP - MOTOGP OFFICIAL PRACTICE
Sete Gibernau will start tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix
feeling fully confident of joining the battle for victory
in a race that promises to be the most tense of the season
so far. The Spanish rider is pleased with the results of the
four practice sessions this weekend and his qualifying lap
time, which looked enough for pole position until Valentino
Rossi improved it by just one tenth of a second at the chequered
flag. Sete was a massive 1.8 seconds inside his own circuit
record at Mugello and set a fast pace on used tyres as he
made plans for tomorrow’s race.
Marco Melandri is also prepared to put on a top performance
in front of his home crowd although he made no attempt to
disguise his disappointment at missing out on the second row.
The job done today with the suspension and front fork was
positive, but the time he spent on it meant he ran out of
the necessary time to set a fast lap on a qualifying tyre
at th! e end of the session.
SETE GIBERNAU (2nd, 1’49”361):
“I’m very satisfied with the results in practice
both from yesterday and today. Obviously I would have liked
to start from pole but at the end of the day I was very close
and tried my best. The important thing is that we’re
starting from the front row and we have a good set-up for
the race. We did a great lap time without using qualifying
tyres and spent a lot of time working on my rhythm on spent
tyres. I have to get a good start and just go for it. The
tyres will be extremely important and so will physical fitness.
I hope the weather is on our side and that the work we’ve
done on Friday and Saturday pays off in the race.”
MARCO MELANDRI (7th, 1’49”805):
“We’ve worked a lot on the suspension and the
front fork and spent a lot of time trying to find a solution,
which in the end meant I couldn’t make the most of the
qualifying tyre. I was expecting to at least be on the second
row of the grid but I’m feeling very motivated about
the race. I’m staying calm though – my objective
is still to pick up as many points as possible.”
LAP TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’49”223
2. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) 1’49”361
3. Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) 1’49”458
4. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) 1’49”546
5. John Hopkins (USA/Suzuki) 1’49”556
6. Loris Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 1’49”633
7. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1’49”805
8. Carlos Checa (Esp/Ducati) 1’49”811
9. Shinya Nakano (Jap/Kawasaki) 1’49”856
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